Some cultures report that the practice of cranial deformation was passed on as an edict from the gods. Ancient Polynesian tradition informs us that this right was brought to them by a group of light-skinned people whose home was in the sky. In Central America claims are made that this custom was employed because the gods told their ancestors to do it. They go on to state that the practice makes it easier to carry burdens. In Peru, the god Manco Cápac ordered the people to perform this strange ritual so that their children would be weak, submissive and obedient.

It is unclear why the intentional manipulation of the skull was adopted. This practice, once decided upon, takes years to unfold before a child is grown and enters into a position of power or prestige. It seems evident that this painful procedure was not a response to some innate primal impulse. It seems hard to fathom that a parent or caregiver would want to inflict years of relentless pain and discomfort on an infant based upon an ancient fashion trend. Implementation of elongation would also require long termed planning and commitment on the part of the care giver for it to ever flourish. If it were something that humanity was compelled to do as part of its social evolution, then it would only make sense that it would be found more widely distributed. This practice, however, was confined to certain classes and specific geographic areas. It seems obvious that this tradition was so important to our ancestors that it has lingered and has been passed down through time to the modern era - its meaning and real significance lost.

The willing decision to adopt this practice around the world overnight seems unlikely. Perhaps, this is not a haphazard invention of our ancestors, as is currently believed. It seems more likely this practice was imposed upon the people by an outside source. The special knowledge required by caregivers to implement this delicate procedure appears to have developed overnight. Then, when we take into account the uniformity of the methodology, tools and techniques used by cultures around the world, it is difficult to accept that the practice originated independently. French naturalist, Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau, writing in 1889, did not believe that the extraordinary similarities between the skulls could have come about autonomously or as a natural impulse of the human race and asserts that the evidence points to a worldwide culture in archaic times. Who were these people who imposed the tradition of cranial deformation on our ancestors? Survivors of the great flood as recorded in the Bible? Remnants of the Atlantian legacy? Or members of an extraterrestrial race? We do not have the answer to that question right now, but as more evidence is unearthed the true origin of this practice will be revealed.

Prior to 1900, it was believed that only one important archaeological investigation had been carried out in the country - Alfred Marche’s exploration of Marinduque from April to July 1881, but further research has revealed that the German-Russian naturalist Fedor Jagor was ahead of him by twenty years in undertaking explorations on this island. While many other accidental finds in other Philippine places have been recorded from time to time, and a few burial caves and sites had been casually explored by European or local scientists, no systematic work had been done anywhere else prior to these explorations. After Marche, the next important archaeological work was undertaken by Dr. Carl Gunthe in the Central Visayan Islands in 1922.(Beyer)

An abundant yield of Chinese urns, vases, gold ornaments, and other ornaments of pre-Spanish origin, as well as of elongated skulls was what the Marche finds represented. He brought back to France in 40 crates the Marinduque artifacts he uncovered. Part of it now said to be housed at the Musee de l’Homme in France. (Solheim). The finds also included a wooden image of the Marinduque anito called ‘Pastores’ by the natives.

Part of these artifacts have also found their way into the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (Ocampo).

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